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Ablett out of Freo clash

A showdown with Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley will have to wait for Gary Ablett after the Gold Coast captain was ruled out for at least another week with a knee injury.

The stage was set for a memorable clash between the pair at Metricon Stadium on Saturday after Ablett caused a stir by tweeting that Crowley was a ''joke'' for using negative tactics on Carlton's Chris Judd last Friday.

But Ablett has not only been ruled out of the much-hyped match with Fremantle, he is also in doubt for the Suns' round-seven game against Greater Western Sydney in Canberra.

The Suns were desperate to avenge their pre-season loss to the Giants and create some much-needed season momentum with off-contract Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna's future being reviewed by the club's board.

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Suns football general manager Marcus Ashcroft said in a worst-case scenario, Ablett might not be fit until the round-eight clash with the Western Bulldogs in Darwin.

''After reviewing his scans, our medical team deemed that Gary would miss anywhere between two and four matches, and we still believe that to be the case,'' Ashcroft said.

''We will be in a much better place to assess his progress once he has had a couple of running sessions under his belt. Gary is one of the most professional players in the game and we know he will do everything possible to get himself right.'' AAP